The sprawling expanse of the American heartland is many things: picturesque as it is desolate, familiar as it is alien. Very few settings manage to capture such contrasting characteristics in equal measure, so it’s no wonder that the endless roads and forgotten towns of the deep countryside are practically synonymous with the general concept of a “post-apocalypse”. Although there is a bleak horror to the very real rural decay of “Flyover Country,” there is a tragic beauty in its stillness, something which OKC noise rockers Chat Pile and Texas-raised, Oklahoma-based fingerpicking guitarist and composer Hayden Pedigo masterfully capture on „In the Earth Again“.

„In the Earth Again“ unravels new, yet-to-be-explored layers of complexity for Chat Pile and Hayden Pedigo’s artistic visions. Despite their works occupying what seem like completely opposite ends of the genre and tonal spectrum, Hayden Pedigo and Chat Pile’s Captain Ron, Luther Manhole, Raygun Busch, and Stin radiate a genuine synergy with one another that extends far beyond their music. Each residents of rural America with a penchant for the weird and eclectic, it was only a matter of time before their paths crossed in Oklahoma City’s underground/DIY art scene, first as friends during Hayden’s relocation from one panhandle state to another, and eventually as artistic collaborators as that bond crystallised.

First proposed as an idea to do a more traditional split release together in line with a couple of prior Chat Pile projects, the conversation eventually came to a head while grabbing drinks at a tiki bar to instead opt for making a full-fledged collaborative album. While the prospect of crafting a record from scratch was daunting in its own right, doing so as a collaboration between two artists with vastly different styles presented a whole new layer of challenges.

Yet as luck would have it, Hayden and the Chat Pile boys, with the wind from their recent breakthrough releases in their sails and a rare window of time where they were both home from touring, took the plunge, concocting what is not only a superb synthesis of each project’s sounds but a transformative new chapter in each of their bodies of work.

Rather than alternating between moments where either the quartet’s signature sludgy beatdown of noise rock and Hayden’s Fahey-esque guitar soundscapes individually shine, „In the Earth Again“ sees both Chat Pile and Hayden Pedigo explore latent yet previously untapped aspects of their sounds. For Chat Pile, this meant an opportunity to explore moodier arrangements, indulge in sample and tape manipulation, and pen among the most sincere and personal lyrics in their entire discography. In Hayden’s case, this collaboration enabled the visionary guitarist to translate the masterful craft of his typically tranquil, deep country soundscapes into something more sinister, tinged with a visceral, metallic grit that is no less evocative on a sensory level than their solo material.

Framed through a loose yet ever-present narrative soaked in apocalyptic subtext, In the Earth Again presents a portrait of societal decay, characterised by the brutality of the active apocalypse and the eerie stillness that follows in its wake.

Throughout its entire thirty-six-minute runtime, the album cycles between rustic tones, snarling aggression, and crescendos of tragic catharsis. 

Chat Pile & Hayden Pedigo „In the Earth Again“ will arrive October 31, 2025 on 12-inch 180g HQ vinyl and will be be published in multiple editions: Gatefold Standard with color variants, Gatefold Deluxe housed in the CMPTRSTDNTS-typical Type-2 aluminum sleeves with black print. A limited edition housed in the matte Type-1 sleeve, only available through the Computer Students website, as well as Compact Disc, Cassette and Digital.